The use of radioactive material may result in radiation and/or contamination areas in such areas as reactors, fuel and isotope processing facilities, laboratories, glove boxes, isolators, and other rooms in which the radioactive material is handled. The location and amount of the resulting radiation and contamination may initially be unknown. Although portable sensors are available to survey the radiation and contamination areas, these surveys necessarily expose the personnel conducting the surveys to potentially harmful levels of radiation and contamination. As a result, remote monitoring and characterization of the radiation and contamination areas may be used to reduce the risk of personal exposure to ionizing radiation during initial assessment, remediation, and long-term monitoring of the affected areas.
Various systems are available to assist in remotely monitoring radiation and contamination areas. In some systems, a sensor may be positioned in a suspected radiation or contamination area to detect and locate any ionizing radiation present. The sensor may be later retrieved, and the survey results may be manually plotted or overlaid on a diagram or photograph of the area to map the specific locations and levels of ionizing radiation found. In other systems, multiple separate sensors may be simultaneously or serially positioned in a suspected radiation or contamination area, with each sensor having a different sensitivity and range for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. Alternately, a single sensor may be positioned in a suspected radiation or contamination area, and a series of surveys may be conducted with the sensor as the sensitivity and range of the sensor is adjusted to accurately detect and quantify the unknown level of ionizing radiation present.
The need exists for an improved system that may overcome one or more disadvantages of existing systems. For example, an improved system may allow a single sensor to simultaneously survey the radiation or contamination area while capturing still or video images of the area being surveyed so that the survey results may be directly mapped to the still or video images. Alternately, or in addition, an improved system may enhance modification of a sensor so a single sensor may conduct multiple surveys, with varying sensitivity and range limits, without adjusting the position of the sensor.